VIA TOWNHALL.VIRGINIA.GOV
September 15, 2023
Kevin E. Schmidt
Director, Office of Policy, Planning and Research
Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
kevin.schmidt@vdacs.virginia.gov
(807) 786-1346
Re: Comments on Petition for Rulemaking Pursuant to Virginia Code
§ 2.2-4007(A): Minimum Welfare Standards for the Transport of
Live Poultry to Slaughter
Introduction
We submit the following comment on behalf of our 1.8 million members and followers across the country in support of food systems that work better for animals, people, and the planet.
As a national animal protection organization that pioneered the Sanctuary movement, Farm Sanctuary possesses firsthand experience with the dire consequences of inadequately regulated poultry transport. Over the past 35 years, we have cared for numerous birds subjected to inhumane transport conditions, uniquely positioning us to advocate for the nearly 300 million chickens and turkeys transported, processed, and sold in Virginia each year.1
In the following sections, we explore why and how the Virginia Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services should set specific minimum welfare standards for the transport of live poultry to slaughter.
I. Handling
In early 2022, a poultry truck driver took a wide turn at an intersection, causing over a dozen unsecured crates filled with hundreds of small chickens to crash on a busy street. With little incentive to return and collect the birds, the driver continued on. Luckily, Farm Sanctuary was contacted.2
One of the chicks, named Lemondrop, suffered a broken wing. While one might assume her wing broke from the fall’s impact, we cannot be sure Lemondrop wasn’t harmed from routine, rough handling.3 Numerous documented cases reveal instances of poultry abuse by workers,4 including multiple investigations against Tyson Foods that exposed handlers beating, throwing, kicking, and suffocating live birds.5 As cited in Animal Partisan’s petition, the catching, handling, and loading of birds for transport to slaughter can cause a host of injuries, including bone fractures, dislocations, ruptured organs, bruising, and head trauma.6
Minimizing stress, bruising, and injury from handling not only benefits the birds but also the humans who consume them. Increased stress from physical and psychological harm elevates the risk that Salmonella bacteria in the birds’ intestines will infiltrate the muscle—consumed by humans—via the bloodstream.7 Bruising also poses a concern, as Salmonella bacteria thrive and spread much more easily in bruises than in healthy tissues, thus heightening the risk of consumers falling ill from roughly handled poultry.8
We support the Virginia Cooperative Extension’s recommendations regarding best practices for the humane catching and handling of poultry and call upon the Virginia Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services to adopt the Extension’s standards:
Noisy and aggressive catching can cause panic and injury. Approach the birds quietly and calmly, possibly under dim lighting. For larger bird types, always have two points of contact when catching a bird, for instance, by holding the legs and the body. Never catch birds by their neck, head, or tail. Avoid catching by their legs or wings alone. Do not hold birds upside down, [as] they get stressed, fearful, and may even die because of inverted restraint.9
2. Transit Conditions
Temperature
As discussed in Animal Partisan’s petition, extreme temperatures constitute the primary cause of stress and injury for poultry during transit to slaughter.10 According to publicly available records, thousands of birds have perished due to heat exhaustion and sub-zero conditions. In cases of severe heat and cold stress, surviving birds are more likely to contract Salmonella infections, thereby increasing the risk of Salmonella-related illnesses in human consumers.11
Minnesota’s Butterfield Foods repeated state cruelty law violations showcase the peril posed by extreme temperatures for poultry in transit.12 On June 9, 2021, over 2,500 birds died after being left in a trailer overnight without proper ventilation when local temperatures exceeded 90 degrees. The preceding year, Butterfield evaded accountability when, in two separate incidents, more than 18,500 birds suffered and died from heat exposure and freezing temperatures.13 Without proper regulation, companies like Butterfield will continue jeopardizing human and animal lives.
To protect poultry from exposure to extreme temperatures and safeguard Virginia’s consumers from Salmonella contamination, the Virginia Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services should adopt the following standards for transit temperature regulation:14
Stocking Density
In May 2015, locals notified Farm Sanctuary that 60 chickens had fallen off a transport truck headed to Brooklyn.15 The year prior, Farm Sanctuary rescued 87 birds that survived a similar fall from a truck on the Staten Island Expressway.16 We have witnessed how frequently unsecured straps result in dozens, if not hundreds, of birds toppling off moving vehicles. But even more prevalent are the overcrowded transport conditions birds must endure on their way to slaughter.
Birds in transport trucks are tightly packed into several tiers of plastic crates, with feces and debris raining down on those stuck below. All 87 survivors of the 2014 crash required treatment for respiratory infections, likely stemming from the congested, stressful, and unsanitary conditions that overcrowding creates.17
According to the Virginia Cooperative Extension, each chicken must be allotted one-half and one square foot of space, while ducks, geese, and turkeys require two to three square feet.18 The Virginia Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services must ensure that birds in transit have adequate space by enshrining the Virginia Cooperative Extension’s recommendations into law.
III. Length of Journey and Lairage
The primary statute governing the treatment of poultry during transport to slaughter is Virginia Code § 3.2-6508, which prohibits the confinement of animals for transport longer than twenty-four hours without exercise, rest, feed, and water.19 Virginia’s twenty-four hour law is insufficient to protect the welfare of birds. Leaving any living being, regardless of species, in cramped, unsanitary, and perilous conditions for up to twenty-four hours is both inhumane and unsafe.
Lairage, the period between the arrival of poultry at the slaughterhouse and slaughter itself, is another poorly regulated aspect of the transport process that often results in birds being left for hours or days, even during extreme weather events.20 Similar to transit, heat and cold stress are common in lairage, leading to unnecessary suffering, death, and risk of Salmonella contamination.21
In establishing humane standards of care for poultry during transport, the Virginia Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services should enact the following rules:
Transit:22
Lairage:23
Conclusion
Farm Sanctuary calls on the Virginia Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services to pass rules enacting minimal welfare standards for poultry in transport. The recommendations set forth in this comment, while significant, do not encompass the full spectrum of considerations pertaining to poultry transport to slaughter. We strongly urge the Virginia Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services to conduct further research on all aspects of poultry transport to slaughter, including handling techniques, maximum transport times, exposure to weather, loading densities, vehicle design, feed and water deprivation, and licensing and training.
We know firsthand how meager government oversight negatively affects the wellbeing of chickens, ducks, geese, and turkeys. Regular reviews of USDA enforcement records reveal that every year, tens of thousands of birds suffer excruciating deaths before they even make it to the slaughter line.24 In August 2020, we filed a lawsuit against the USDA in collaboration with the Animal Welfare Institute and Harvard Law School’s Animal Law & Policy Clinic. Our objective was to prompt the resolution of systematic poultry mistreatment during slaughter.25 Unfortunately, we are still awaiting the development of poultry handling regulations that meaningfully address concerns related to food safety and bird welfare. This lawsuit is just the beginning, as we are well aware of the numerous regulatory gaps resulting from lack of federal oversight that must be filled.
In light of the absence of federal laws, and adequate state laws, regulating the welfare of poultry during transport to slaughter,26 the state of Virginia must take immediate action to protect Virginia’s birds and communities.
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